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Ocean Pines fiber pitch fouled off

Posted On: 12/8/16

Written By: Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Dec. 8, 2016) Representatives from FTS Fiber and ThinkBig Networks briefed a few dozen homeowners and members of the Ocean Pines Board of Directors on Monday on the possibility of installing infrastructure that could bring state-of-the-art internet to the community.
The pitch was well-received with one exception: the chief executive officer of FTS also happens to be a board member and the interim general manager of Ocean Pines, Brett Hill, and some trepidations were raised about a possible conflict of interest.
Hill left the room without comment, apparently recusing himself, as the subject came up. Stepping in were FTS Senior Advisor Kenny Lawhorn and Chief Commercial Officer Adam Noll, and ThinkBig CEO Mark Wagner.
Board President Tom Herrick said there was some concern the police department was in need of direct fiber optic connectivity to the Worcester County Sheriff’s Department, and that Hill asked the discussion be placed on the agenda of the monthly public work sess...

Shore Gives More lives up to name

Posted On: 12/8/16

Written By: Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Dec. 8, 2016) Close to 60 local nonprofits received more than $88,000 through the Shore Gives More campaign held in conjunction with Giving Tuesday.
The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore oversaw the online drive, which began on Nov. 29 and continued to accept donations until midnight Friday.
The foundation launched the fundraiser last year, when two-dozen local nonprofits received donations.
“This year’s Shore Gives More campaign exceeded all our hopes and expectations through the generous support of donors. We are very fortunate to have such a giving and caring community,” foundation President Erica Joseph said in a press release this week.
While the majority of donations came in from Maryland and Delaware, people from 17 other states also contributed.
“It just goes to show you that you can leave the Eastern Shore, but the spirit of the shore never leaves your heart,” Joseph said. “We are so grateful for this generous outpour...

Shooting death in Pocomoke City

Posted On: 12/8/16

Written By: Brian Gilliland, Associate Editor

(Dec. 8, 2016) James Allen Jr., 26, of Pitts Circle in Pocomoke City, died of multiple gunshot wounds last Thursday night during an incident that took place in area of the town’s Fourth and Market streets, the Maryland State Police said.
Shortly after 10 p.m. that night, police received a 911 call from a passing motorist who reported seeing a man stagger and fall in the middle of the road.
Police believe the shooting occurred about an eighth of a mile away, in the area of Fourth and Oxford streets.
Investigators from the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit responded to the scene and led the investigation. Those investigators are being assisted by the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation, MSP Criminal Enforcement Division investigators, the Pocomoke City Police Department, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office and state police.
Crime scene evidence has been taken to the State Police Forensic Sciences Division crime laboratory for analysis.
Crime Solvers of th...

Former PD Chief Sewell convicted of misconduct

Posted On: 12/8/16

Written By: Brian Gilliland, Associate Editor

(Dec. 8, 2016) It took less than an hour last Thursday for a Worcester County Circuit Court jury to convict former Pocomoke City Police Chief Kelvin Sewell of misconduct in office. He was sentenced to three years of supervised probation and ordered to pay $1,000 fine and court costs. A three-year jail sentence was suspended.
Maryland State Prosecutor Emmet Davitt requested a six-month jail term during sentencing, while the attorney for the defense, Barry Coburn, argued successfully that imposing jail time on a 30-plus year police officer with no prior criminal record for what amounted to a traffic case would be excessive.
The predominantly white jury of eight men and four women agreed with the prosecution’s argument that Sewell, a former Baltimore City homicide detective, and another Pocomoke officer instructed others to write up an alleged hit-and-run incident as a simple accident as a favor for a friend.
The facts of the incident were never disputed. Close to midnight on No...

What a racquet: Ocean Pines advisory committee dissolved

Posted On: 12/8/16

Written By: Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Dec. 8, 2016) Members of the Ocean Pines Association Racquet Sports Committee apparently are not getting along.
During a public work session on Monday, Board President Tom Herrick said a recent request for advice from committee Chairwoman June Freeman “spiraled out of control, which subsequently led to personal attacks [and] verbal abuse.”
“I’m not happy with this conduct,” he said. “I don’t think it serves the committees well nor does it serve the community well.”
Herrick said part of the problem is that the committee was tasked with issues related to “three distinct and separate racquet sports each with different needs and interest.” That is, tennis, platform tennis and pickleball.
“It does not produce a climate conducive to good sport camaraderie … but produces inner turmoil and unrest, which hinders the core function of the committee.”
He added that six members of the committee have resigned since...

Pregnant woman reports attack by police impostors

Posted On: 12/8/16

Written By: Brian Gilliland, Associate Editor

(Dec. 8, 2016) Police continue to search for three men accused of impersonating police officers in order to rob a Brooklyn, New York woman just outside of Snow Hill on Dec. 1.
The unidentified, pregnant 38-year-old woman told investigators she was driving to Norfolk, Virginia when she pulled over in response to a Chevrolet SUV with Maryland registration flashing blue and red lights.
The victim told police she was driving from her home to Norfolk in a rented vehicle, when she responded to the flashing lights in the area of the intersection of Whiton Road and Snow Hill Road.
The victim told police the first man approached the driver side of the car and sprayed pepper spray into the vehicle before spraying it onto a towel that he held over her face. The victim said she then got out of the car, and was punched in the stomach by same man.
The victim said the second man was holding a small black handgun and wearing a gold badge on a chain around his neck. He allegedly stole ...

Ocean Pines names new marketing director, Sawyer

Posted On: 12/8/16

Written By: Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Dec. 8, 2016) Newly hired Ocean Pines Association Marketing Director Denise Sawyer promises a younger, hipper approach to promoting the community.
Sawyer, 28, was born in Miami and went to school in Washington, D.C. While still in college, she worked as a television production assistant for the Hearst media group, which led to an interview – and eventually a job – in front of the camera with WBOC just a week after graduation.
About a year and a half later she joined the new NBC affiliate in Rehoboth, where she worked for about three years.
She said she heard about the job in Ocean Pines online last month after then Marketing Director Teresa Travatello announced she would be leaving.
“I wanted something that would allow me to really get into the community and get to know people, and not just in a quick, deadline-driven basis,” Sawyer said. “I wanted to really get out there and build a rapport and build relationships with the people that I call neigh...

Friday OPA meeting should be busy

Posted On: 12/8/16

Written By: Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Dec. 8, 2016) The future of the Ocean Pines Association Country Club could come to a vote during a public meeting on Friday.
During an informal work session this week, talks of a partial renovation of the Tern Grill inside the club turned instead to the major renovation proposed by interim General Manager Brett Hill last month.
Hill had asked the board to consider part of that, an estimated $50,000 to refurbish and redesign the Tern Grill on the first floor, on Monday. Work on that part of the project would need to start soon, he said, if it were to be finished when golf bookings are expected to pick back up in spring.
Other parts of the overhaul, including improvements to the men’s and women’s restrooms on the first floor, could be discussed during the next board meeting, in January, and also be finished in time for the start of the new golf season.
The entire proposed renovation includes replacing the roof and HVAC systems, creating additional meeting spaces upst...

Meals for the Hungry drive deemed successful

Posted On: 12/8/16

Written By: Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Dec. 8, 2016) About two dozen volunteers fed hundreds of people during the first Artists Giving Back: Meals for the Hungry drive at St. Paul United Methodist Church on Flower Street last Tuesday.
Developed by the Berlin Arts & Entertainment Committee, Meals for the Hungry was meant to be both a straightforward attempt to feed those who were struggling, and part of a larger outreach to a segment of the community that often feels left out by those on the other side of Route 113.
“It was an incredible success,” Robin Tomaselli, committee member, said. “We figured we served between eat-in, carryout and delivery, more than 260 people.”
Additional food was taken to Diakonia, where another 100 were served people, Tomaselli estimated.
Food for Meals for the Hungry was donated by Berlin shops and restaurants, while volunteers, including many members of the committee and the church, helped cook and serve the food.
Girls from the SAGES program at Worcester Yout...

Pocomoke approves voting rules changes

Posted On: 12/8/16

Written By: Greg Ellison, Staff Writer

(Dec. 8, 2016) The Pocomoke City Council unanimously approved on second reading amendments to the town charter altering language related to the conduct of elections at its meeting on Monday.
During it’s meeting on Nov. 21, the council approved on first reading the following changes to election procedures: requiring future elections to use paper ballots, restricting citizens from organizing write-in candidates for public office, adding two alternate positions on the board of elections and revising provisions to address tie votes and election certification.
The last change was made in response to the recent contested election between council incumbent George Tasker and Sheila Nelson, when a “mechanical error” with voting machines caused 127 votes to counted, while election records showed 132 people cast ballots. That eventually lead to another election being held at the end of May with Tasker garnering 98 votes to Nelson’s 91.
Under the new regulations, settlin...